FOOTBALL: Parma lifted by Stoichkov

Italian round-up

Bulgaria's Hristo Stoichkov yesterday helped silence critics of Parma's coach, Nevio Scala, scoring one goal and making another in his side's 3-0 Serie A victory over Fiorentina.

But the future looks bleak for the beleaguered Internazionale manager, Ottavio Bianchi, after his side slipped to a 2-1 defeat against Napoli, whom Bianchi used to coach. Napoli's victory, their first at home to Inter since the Argentinian Diego Maradona scored in their success back in 1988, kept the southern side in close touch at the top of the table.

Milan maintained their perfect start to the season with a 3-0 victory over Atalanta to move to the top of the table - at least for a few hours - with a maximum 12 points.

n A Jurgen Klinsmann penalty in the 89th minute of Bayern Munich's match against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday gave the Bavarian side a 1-0 win and established a Bundesliga record of seven consecutive wins since the start of the season.